It's a no frills event but full of fun:
1. Bib Pick Up - No health expo, pictured I.D not required and no freebies except 2 packets of chewable stuff. Out of there in 2 minutes with my bib#, timing chip & shirt.
2. Start Line (Half Marathon) - Stay on the trail, go south by about 1/4 mile and you will find a surf board planted on the sand with Start painted on it. No banner, no cones, no balloons.
3. Hydration Stations - I left the comment(s) to the expert(s). I always run with my hydration belt.
4. Finish Line - Look at the picture: You can't get simpler than this.
My Perspective of the Race - Fun started at 5:15am. I left the hotel on foot(still dark) and walked toward the fairground where I thought the HM starts. My bad, had to turnaround when told the start line was near the historic pier. Together with a couple, a female runner and her companion on a bike, we got a simple direction from the event staff near the pier. Stay on the trail, keep walking till you find a surf board with Start painted on it. After walking 1/2 mile, we reached the start line. That was fun and a good warm up.
The race started on time. The trail was crowded with runners and had to run slowly for almost a mile. At the bike trail the crowd thin out and now on my normal HM pace. As usual, I look for a pacer and stayed with him/her till I lost them and had to look for another one. Majority of the participants are young men and women, serious runners and from the look of their appearance, lead a healthy and active lifestyle. At age 69, I thought I was the oldest participant(the results listed another participant at age 72).
At mile 6, I was still running strong and at paced to set a PR. On the 2nd loop, the crowd really thin out and there were times, I can not see a runner ahead of me. At mile 10, this is where I usually get tired, I found a pacer that motivated me to run behind her all the way to the finish line.
The race started on time. The trail was crowded with runners and had to run slowly for almost a mile. At the bike trail the crowd thin out and now on my normal HM pace. As usual, I look for a pacer and stayed with him/her till I lost them and had to look for another one. Majority of the participants are young men and women, serious runners and from the look of their appearance, lead a healthy and active lifestyle. At age 69, I thought I was the oldest participant(the results listed another participant at age 72).
At mile 6, I was still running strong and at paced to set a PR. On the 2nd loop, the crowd really thin out and there were times, I can not see a runner ahead of me. At mile 10, this is where I usually get tired, I found a pacer that motivated me to run behind her all the way to the finish line.
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| Almost there!! |
Crossed the finish line strong and when I looked at my Garmin watch I was shocked. I finally reached my ultimate goal ----- to finish the 1/2 marathon under 2 hrs. Unbelievable, awesome, it's a miracle were the words that can described my feelings. Unfortunately, a further looked at my Garmin watch, the course distance is only 12.62 miles. Short by about 1/2 mile.
Official Time : 1:56:54
Overall Place : 95/268 AG(65/74) : 1st Place
It's a PR for me even if I add a conservative time of 5 minutes to my official time to run the other 1/2 mile.
I had fun at the race and above all, my wife and I enjoyed our weekend in Ventura.
Awesome. Too bad they didn't measure the course well.
ReplyDeleteThe age graders say thats the equivalent of a 1:28 marathon. I need to run 1:45 to match you! Ugh. No can do...yet.
Plan on running some halfs this coming summer/fall to try for sub < 1:50. Perhaps I might find you at one of them!
-p
Thanks Paul! When I saw the time, I knew something was not right. No way can I cut 5 minutes on my HM PR. I haven't given up on the under 2 hr finish though.
ReplyDeleteYour Copenhagem Marathon report is awesome. Thanks for sharing.
Congratulations Art! Everytime your time gets better. Keep up the good job.
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by, Joe! Training on speed/pace that I can sustain all the way to the finish line.
ReplyDeleteGood luck and run safe.